What does freedom and justice mean for Ghana s LGBTQ+ community? – Ghana Visions ghanavisions.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from ghanavisions.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
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The last few weeks have witnessed intensive homophobic rhetoric in the Ghanaian media in response to news that the Ghanaian LGBT+ community opened a new office and held a fundraising and rights advocacy in January 2021. The ‘dress rehearsal’ for the current situation took place in 2019, when the National Coalition for Proper Human Sexual Rights and Family Values (comprising the Christian council, traditional leaders, the Catholic Bishops Conference, Ghana Pentecostal and Charismatic Council, Atta Mills Institute, Coalition of Muslim Organisations and others) rose against proposals to include comprehensive sexuality education in the Ghanaian school curriculum arguing that it was an attempt to promote LGBT+ rights in Ghana. The government buckled under the pressure and the proposals were dropped, but the scale of misconceptions peddled at the time and in the ongoing saga demonstrates the sore need for sexuality education and advocacy in Ghana.
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The last few weeks have witnessed intensive homophobic rhetoric across the Ghanaian media landscape in response to news of a fundraising, office inauguration, and rights advocacy event by the Ghanaian LGBTQI+ community in January. The “dress rehearsal” for the current situation occurred in 2019, when the National Coalition for Proper Human Sexual Rights and Family Values (comprising the Christian council, traditional leaders, the Catholic Bishops Conference, Ghana Pentecostal and Charismatic Council, Atta Mills Institute, Coalition of Muslim Organizations, and others) rose against proposals to include Comprehensive Sexuality Education (CSE) in the Ghanaian school curriculum arguing that it was an attempt to promote LGBTQI+ rights in Ghana. The government buckled under the pressure and the proposals were dropped, but the scale of misconceptions peddled at the time and in the ongoing saga demonstrates the sore need for sexuality education and advocacy in Ghana.
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Bawku Central MP, Mahama Ayariga, says it was unconstitutional for the police to close the offices of the LGBTQ+ community in Ashongman, Accra.
Speaking in Parliament, he stated that although the practice of LGBTQ+ activities is illegal, the country does not forbid freedom of association or advocacy.
Mahama Ayariga said members of the LGBTQ+ per the constitution have the freedom of speech and thus can express their unpopular opinions without facing backlash or consequences.
He added that they also have the right to advocate for a position be it popular or unpopular.
“Now that closure that happened, if indeed the security agencies of this country were involved I believe that there was an infraction of fundamental human right. Stopping them is a clear violation of our own constitution.”
Foh-Amoaning calls for shutdown of new LGBT office in Accra ghanavisions.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from ghanavisions.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.